Calls of Power

Anne L. Wexler says lobbyists don’t wield inordinate power in Washington. “Issues are decided on their merits,” she tells Mother Jones. Yet a review of this call-back list prepared for her last September 18 demonstrates real access. Among the callers: A top policy wonk (the Democratic Leadership Council’s Al From); Ed Hall, the minority chief of staff for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; and huge corporate clients (Arnie Wellman of United Parcel Service, Rick Stoddard of Kaiser Ventures, and Ralph Gerson of Guardian Industries).

1. The New York Times’ chief Washington Correspondent R.W. “Johnny” Apple and his wife, Betsy Apple, send Wexler “heaps of love.” The venerable Apple is a useful contact since he admits that he puts a lot of trust in establishment friends (like Wexler). He once said, “If Lawrence Eagleburger or Zbignew Brzezinski and one or two others were to say to me [about a story], ‘That’s a lot of crap,’ I tend to be hesitant to put it forward.”

2. Ilena Futter (“Elena” in memo), a fundraiser for Tom Daschle, calls to talk to Wexler, apparently about turning the Senate minority leader’s 50th birthday into an occasion to drum up a little campaign cash.

3. Derek Guest handles regulatory issues for Eastman Kodak, a Wexler client that is a member of USA*Engage, also a Wexler client. Eastman Kodak is suing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to ease rules on workplace exposure to methylene chloride, a suspected carcinogen.

4. Bad news! Stuart Eizenstat, Undersecretary of State and the man in charge of the department’s sanctions review committee—a cause dear to USA*Engage’s heart—can’t meet with Guest’s boss, CEO George Fisher. Wexler probably wanted “Stu,” whom she’s known since the two worked for President Carter 20 years ago, to chat with Fisher about his company’s battle with Fuji film over access to Japanese markets.

5. Debbie Dingell is married to Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress. Debbie is also executive director of the General Motors Foundation. GM is a Wexler client. Wexler’s firm is a steady contributor to Rep. Dingell and also lobbies for a number of firms with interests before the commerce committee, where he is the ranking member. It’s a small world after all!